Wire-stretching tool



p 9, 1930- E. H. MILLER 1,775,207

W RE STRETCHING TOOL .Filed May 19. '1928 Patented Sept. 7 9, 1930 UE'EED STATES ELM/D H. MILLER, OF ELBERT COUNTY, COLORADO WIRE-STRETCHING TOOL Application filed May 19,

An object of this invention is to provide an improved wire stretching tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved tool for bringing together and holding in position for splicing the adjacent ends of taut wires.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved wire stretching tool having I spaced wire engaging means, one of said engaging means being adjustable relative to the other engaging means,whereby the leverage of the tool may be varied.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved wire engaging means in combination with a wire stretching tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved wire stretching tool that is simple and inexpensive of manufacture, positive, efficient and durable in use and compact and easily carried.

Myinvention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying I drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan View of the complete tool engaging the adjacent ends of wires and in position for practical use. Figure 2 is a side elevation of the showing of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a plan view of the complete tool and engaged wires after said tool has been turned through an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees from the position shown in Figure 1. Figure 4 is an end elevation of the showing of Figure 1. Figure 5 is fragmentary detail view, partly in section, on the indicated line 55 of Figure 2. Figure 6 is an isometric view-of an adjustable unit employed in the invention. Figure '7 is a bottom view of one of the eccentriclevers employed in theinvention.

In the construction of my improvement as shown, a bar 10 is formed of any suitable material such as iron or steel and is preferably rectangular in cross section and straight throughout a portion of its length, one end portion of said bar being forged or otherwise worked to provide a handle 11 curving upwardly and outwardly from the longitudinal axis of said bar. A plate 12 is formed 1928. Serial No. 279,093.

with downwardly-extending marginal flanges 13 and an upwardly-extending, centrallypositioned integral boss 14:, said plate being adapted to be mounted on the rectangular end portion of the bar 10 with the flanges 13 closely engaging opposite sides of said bar and rigidly secured in position by means of rivets 15 or the like passing through registering holes in said plate and bar, the flanges 18 serving to minimize shearing and torsional stresses to which the rivets 15 mi ht be subjected. The boss 14 rises from the plate 12 to terminate in a plane upper surface parallel with said plate and is formed with a laterally-extending ear 16 projecting be yond the bar 10 and comprising an extension of the upper surface of said boss, a pin 17, which may be integral with said boss and car, being positioned on and rising from the upper surface of said car at one side of the longitudinal axis of the bar 10, and a bearing block, or post, 18 is formed on and rises from the upper surface of said boss in spaced relation with said pin, said post 18 having a plane vertical face 19 opposed to said pin, the plane of said face forming an angle with the vertical axial plane of the bar 10, the other vertical surfaces of said post leiug curved and provided with a continuous groove 20 horizontally disposed therein. A cam lever comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion 21 having a portion of its curved surface serrated, a web portion 22 integral with said body portion and extending laterally over and beyondtheserratedsurface thereof, a downwardly-curved lever arm 23 extending radially from said body portion and a hole 2e eccentrically disposed axially of the body portion, is mounted through engagement of the pin 17 with the hole 24 on the boss 14 and ear 16 with the serrated portion of the body 21 opposed to the face 19 of the post 18 and the web portion 22 overlying a portion of the upper surface of said post and 9: is secured in pivotal relation on said pin U through riveting or similar expansion of the upper end thereof, a countersink being provided in the top surface of the cam lever con centric with thehole 24 to receive the ex panded head of the pin 17. A substantially U-shaped yoke 25 is slidingly mounted on the bar 10 between the handle 11 and plate 12, the free ends of said yoke extending upwardly along and above the sides of said bar, and a block 26, comparable to the boss 14 of the plate 12, is pivotally mounted between the free ends of the yoke 25 by means of a pin 27 passing through registering. holes in said block and the ends of said yoke, said block 26 having a plane lower surface adapted to contact with and ride on the upper surface of the bar 10 and a plane upper surface in the same horizontal plane asthe upper surface of the boss 14 and an ear 16, pin 17 and post 18 in all respects similar to the ear 16, pin. 17 and post 18 of the boss 14, the pin 17 being on the opposite-side of the longitudinal axis of the bar 10 from the pin 17. A cam lever in every detail'identical with the cam lever above described is pivotally mounted onthe pin 17 in the same relation with the post 18 as has been set forth with respect to the post 18. The transverse bar of the yoke 25 is formed with an upwardly-extending longitudinal. rib 28 eX- tending transversely of the lower surface of the barlO and said lower surface of said bar is provided with transverse notches or kerfs 29 into which the upper margin of the rib 28 is adapted to seat at times, said notches 29 being spaced apart longitudinally of the rectangular portion of the bar 10. Theyoke 25 isnorma-lly free to slide along the bar 10, the lower surface of the block 26 riding on the upper surface of the bar, but whenstrain is applied to said block 26 longitudinally of said bar, said yoke 25 pivots slightly about the pin27 and the rib 28 engages in one'of the notches 29 to securely hold said yokeand block in position on said bar.

in the practical use of my improvement, the cam levers are rotated 7 about their respective pivots until themaximum spacing between their eccentric serrated margins and theplane faces of the posts 18 and 18. is reached, in which position the webs 22 of the cam levers have been turned to clear the tops of said posts and ample-space isleft for the insertion of wires 30 between said posts and the body portions of said cam levers, whereupon said cam levers are rotated to bring the eccentric serrated margins into engagement with said wires and firmly clamp said wires against the plane faces of said posts,

longitudinal tension on said wires serving to further rotate said cam levers in a clamping direction and insure adequate gripping of said wires. Whth the wires'firinly clamped in the tool as above set forth, the entire tool is rotated through an arc of substantially 1 one hundred and eighty degrees, bending the wires 30 about the posts 18 and 18 and seating said wires in the guide grooves 2(l and 20- of said posts and carrying the clamped where they may readily be tied'or otherwise secured together. As the tool is turned through its arc, the wires 30 engage against side margins of the lever arms 23 of the cam levers in such manner as to further tighten the gripping stra in'on said cam levers, the downward curve of said lever arms permitting the said wires to slide upwardly over the top surfaces of the cam levers. .After "the overlapped ires are secured the cam levers are released and; the tool removed, leaving said wires taut, The yoke 25 may be moved-along the bar 10 to provide the desired leverage relationor t6 vary the amount of slack taken up "by the tool, as is clearly evident from the foregoing description.

Since various modifications of 'form and specific construction may be had without departing from the spirit of myinventiomany limitation of the invention is to lee-found in the scope of the appended claims rather than in the description or illustrative showing thereof. v

I claim as my invention- 1. A wire'stretching tool comprising a lever, a handle on one end of said lever, a wire gripping device fixed to the other end of said lever, said devicecomprising a plate secured to the upper surface ,of said lever, marginal downturned flanges on said plate in gripping relation with side margins of said lever,.a centralboss integralwith, rising y from and transversely of saidplate, a po st integral with and rising from saidboss and a cam lever pivoted on said boss in opposition to said post, together with a second wire gripping. device slidably mounted. on I said lever for adjustable positioning between said handle and first named device. v

2. A wire stretching tool comprising a lever, a handle on one end of said lever,pwire grippin devices in spaced relation longitu-j din-ally of said lever, each ofsaid fdevices comprising a body portion disposed transversely of said lever, a pin risingfrom said body portion, a: cam lever pivotallymounted on said pin,.a post integral withand rising from said bod ortion and havin a lane vertical surface forming an angle with the vertical longitudinal plane. of said lever and in oppositionto the cam surface of SillCllGVI;

one of said devicesbeing fixed to the end of said lever opposite said handle and the'other of said devicesbeing slidably mounted on 1 said lever for adjustable positioning longitudinally thereof. Signed at, Denveninvthe county oftDen- 'ver and State of Colorado, this-20th'fday of February,.1928.' a f V 'ELl VO'OD HQMILLER.

ends of, said wires into overlapping position p 

